This invention relates to solar heating and in particular to a new and improved solar heating panel. Solar energy is in one sense free, but the equipment for collecting and transporting the heat from the sun can be expensive, troublesome and unreliable. Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved solar heating panel suitable for use with a plurality of similar panels in an array, which panels are inexpensive and reliable, substantially trouble-free and durable, and easy to install and maintain.
Heat collectors of various types have been used in the past. One prior art heat collector consists of a metal tube fitted with a metal sheet having an etched surface with a special heat absorbing coating. The collector units are mounted on wooden blocks or on a roof or the like with the tubes interconnected for circulating water, with the solar radiant energy being absorbed by the metal sheets and transferred to the water for heating the water. A typical use for such an installation is heating a swimming pool.
Some other solar heating devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 260,657; 2,636,129; and 3,194,228. These prior art devices incorporate various types of heat collectors and shields or covers which are complex and expensive and not readily suited for use as a cheap and simple swimming pool heater or the like.